Fortunino
Matania

Chevalier Fortunino Matania (April 16, 1881 - February 8, 1963) was an Italian painter known for his realistic depiction of World War I positional battles and a wide range of historical subjects.
Born in Naples, the son of the artist Eduardo Matania, Fortunino Matania studied in his father's studio, designed soap advertisements at the age of 9, and exhibited his first work at the Naples Academy at 11. By the age of 14, he was helping his father create illustrations for books and magazines. His talent was recognized by the editor of the Italian periodical L'Illustrazione Italiania, and Matania created weekly illustrations for the magazine from 1895 to 1902.
At the age of 20 Matania began working in Paris for Illustration Francaise, and in 1902 was invited to London to cover the Coronation of Edward VII for The Graphic. Matania subsequently covered every major event - marriages, christenings, funerals and coronations - of members of the British royal family until the coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1953.
In 1904 Matania joined the staff of The Sphere, where some of his best-known works were to appear, including illustrations of the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. From about 1906 to 1910, he painted nature in the lobby of the Excelsior Hotel in Rome.
The last general absolution of the Munsters at Rue du Bois by Matania, depicting the regiment on the eve of the Battle of Auber Ridge in May 1915
With the outbreak of World War I, Matania became a war artist and was recognized for his graphic and realistic depictions of trench warfare. His painting for the Blue Cross entitled Goodbye Old Man, showing a British soldier saying goodbye to his dying horse, is a fine example of his emotional work.His painting of the Howard Greens, including Henry Tandy, is the centerpiece of a well-known story.
But it was after the war, when he switched to scenes of ancient social life for the British women's magazine Britannia and Eve, that Matania found his real career. He filled his London studio with reproductions of Roman furniture, poring over history books in search of suitable living subjects. Then, with the help of models and statues, he began to paint such subjects as Samson and Dalila, the bacchanalia of ancient Rome, and even early American Indian maidens-all with the same meticulous attention to accuracy and detail that he used in his news assignments.
He usually managed to include one or two sensual nudes in each photograph. "The public demanded it," Matania says. "If there were no nudes in there, the editor or I would get a flood of letters from readers asking politely why not." He was the standard bearer at Britannia and Eve for 19 years.
Matania exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy and also at the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolor, of which he was elected a Fellow in 1917. From 1908 his work appeared in most of the major magazines in Britain and America, including the Illustrated London News, London Magazine, Nash's, Printer Pie and others. When Britain and Eve magazine was launched in 1929, Matania became one of its first contributors. For 19 years he wrote and illustrated historical stories for the magazine. His talents made him a popular illustrator of advertisements, posters and catalogs, and he worked for the LMS Railway designing posters for Southport and Blackpool, Ovaltine, Burberry (the sporting outfitters) and many others.